Abigail Shimniok

Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams traveled to the International Space Station via the Boeing Starliner on June 6, but were unable to return home with the spacecraft, extending their mission from ten days to eight months.

The spacecraft was originally supposed to depart last year, but there were multiple delays as many safety problems were discovered. Once it finally was able to take off, the crew experienced more problems after they launched, including multiple issues with the thrusters on its service module and helium leaks in its propulsion system.

NASA decided to have the spacecraft return home unmanned because of the issues with the Starliner. They did not want to risk the safety of their astronauts.

“The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement on Aug. 24, the day the agency announced the news.

The Starliner made it safely back to Earth on Sept. 6, but Wilmore and Williams are projected to remain at the ISS until Feb. They will join the SpaceX Crew Dragon, which is set to take off later this month with a two-man crew instead of the usual four.

“We’ve got lessons learned that we will go through,” Wilmore said, in response to the news. “We will be involved in those discussions, and the things that need to change will change.”

The Starliner incident is not the only Boeing news that has made headlines. On Sept. 13, just days after the Starliner announcement, over 33,000 Boeing union workers in the Pacific Northwest have gone on strike.

The strike was triggered by a resounding vote from Boeing’s union, in which 94.6% of members rejected a proposed labor contract, which has led to the current work stoppage. The workers have demanded more substantial wage increases, increased retirement benefits and better product quality.

Union workers are hoping to use Boeing’s previous controversies as leverage for their proposal. However, Boeing may not have the funds to give the union what they want. Not only is Boeing about $60 million in debt, but their share price has also gone down almost 40 percent since the beginning of 2024.

“For Boeing, it is no secret that our business is in a difficult period, in part due to our own mistakes in the past. Working together, I know that we can get back on track, but a strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to determine our future together,” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg shared in a letter to union members.